Brrr! A cold spell has gripped us here in Los Angeles, with night temperatures dipping down into the 50s—much too cold for Angelenos … and for goldfish. When the guardians of one rescued goldfish, Sadie, turned on her tank’s water heater this week, she immediately swam over to bask in the warmth, just like a … Read more »
Why would the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) order up animals for experiments from a company that has repeatedly violated federal animal welfare laws? I’m not sure. The CDC has had contracts with the now notorious Pennsylvania ferret-breeding factory farm Triple F Farms, Inc., totaling more than $1.5 million since 2006. But PETA’s … Read more »
Downed cows—those who are too sick or injured to stand up—are of little use to callous cattle auctioneers. So when a cow collapsed at a Texas livestock auction company, what did the employees do? They simply wrapped a chain around her leg, attached the chain to a truck, dragged the cow into a dirt lot … Read more »
This weekend, audiences will be practically tripping over their own two feet rushing to see Happy Feet Two. We just can’t seem to get enough of these charming penguins. Sure, they’re always dressed to the nines, and they star in some of the best videos on YouTube. But there are plenty more reasons to fall … Read more »
Rojer | cc by 2.0 After a fall recess, SeaWorld is back in court to resume its fight against a citation imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which found that the theme park exposed its employees to serious risks after trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed by the orca Tilikum last year. SeaWorld … Read more »
The University of Utah just got slapped with an official warning from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for repeatedly violating the federal Animal Welfare Act by failing to properly review and oversee experiments on animals. If the university is caught violating this law again, it could face up to $10,000 in fines per incident. … Read more »
A fascinating glimpse into the lives of animals who are often seen as little more than Thanksgiving centerpieces.
After its request to dismiss the OSHA case against it was rejected, SeaWorld called its first witness, Jenny Mairot, the supervisor of animal training at the Orlando park. Mairot started at SeaWorld a year after graduating from high school and has never received formal training as an animal behaviorist or trainer outside the organization. Despite … Read more »
© Anthony Aneese Totah Jr | Dreamstime.com The last time that John and Julia Von Achen saw their beloved dog, J, alive, they were boarding a flight from Moscow to New York. When the Von Achens disembarked, they discovered that their dog had apparently frozen to death in the cargo hold during the 11-hour flight. … Read more »
A round of applause, please. A new AP-Petside poll reveals that more than half of companion-animal guardians adopted their animals, with one-third of people taking in strays off the streets and another third adopting animals from shelters, rather than buying them from breeders or pet stores, which contribute to the animal homelessness crisis. Looks like … Read more »
Matthew Tosh | cc by 2.0 A female African elephant named Umoya was found lying on the ground with severe injuries Thursday morning at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. She died shortly thereafter. Umoya was one of seven elephants ripped from their home in Swaziland in 2003 and shipped halfway around the world to … Read more »
Collapsed dorsal fins are a symptom of the unnatural environment of captivity—they are rarely seen in the wild, usually in orcas who are injured or ill Returning to the stand on day eight of the hearings regarding SeaWorld’s challenge to OSHA rulings against SeaWorld, the company’s “curator of animal training,” Kelly Flaherty Clark, became visibly … Read more »
As part of a four-part series on chimpanzees in laboratories published this week, Wired.com tells the story of a chimpanzee named Katrina who was taken from her mother as an infant to be infected with HIV and hepatitis B and C, even though chimpanzees’ bodies don’t react to these diseases in the same way as … Read more »
milan.boers | cc by 2.0 On the final day of SeaWorld’s challenge to its citations imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), questions abounded about the qualifications of Jeff Andrews, a 15-year SeaWorld veteran who now works at the San Diego Zoo and whom SeaWorld offered as a witness. Andrews was presented as … Read more »
He can raise a car clear off the ground, toss huge logs through the air, and lift monster dumbbells. And he hates cruelty to animals. Patrik Baboumian, holder of the “Strongest Man of Germany” title, is a plant-eater! Like many professional athletes and champion fighters, Patrik recognizes that a healthy plant-based diet gives him the … Read more »
